Easton Area School Board members didn't blame administrator Stephen Furst for the resignation of district technology director Thomas Drago after he accessed district computers without permission, according to testimony Monday.

Former board President Robert Fehnel gave his account of what happened during a non-jury trial in Northampton County Court on Monday.

In a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2013, Furst, a former district administrator, alleges the district took retaliatory measures against him for reporting to district officials that Drago accessed his computer without his knowledge in October 2012.

Furst was among 10 administrators whose positions were shuffled in June 2013 after Superintendent John Reinhart took the district's helm in what was then an interim role. While he was later re-promoted from middle school principal to director of teaching and learning. Furst said he was forced to resign in 2015. He is seeking $4 million in lost salary, damages and benefits.

At the start of the trial, attorneys for the district said Furst left after they found naked or mostly naked photos on his computer, not because of his report of Drago. Furst's attorneys said the photos found on his district computer didn't belong to him, and some were left on the previously used hard drive.

CAPTION

Local economist Kamran Afshar says business owners' enthusiasm has fallen, based on his latest survey.

Local economist Kamran Afshar says business owners' enthusiasm has fallen, based on his latest survey.

CAPTION

Local economist Kamran Afshar says business owners' enthusiasm has fallen, based on his latest survey.

Local economist Kamran Afshar says business owners' enthusiasm has fallen, based on his latest survey.

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CAPTION

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli talks during an announcement of charges in an unsolved homicide case from March 2009 at the Northampton County District Attorney's office in Easton on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. District Attorney Morganelli ruled the death of Miguel Aponte Jr. a homicide after being gunned down in an Easton bar by Frank Barndt in 2009. Authorities say the killing was in retribution for a shooting that took place in 2006.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli talks during an announcement of charges in an unsolved homicide case from March 2009 at the Northampton County District Attorney's office in Easton on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. District Attorney Morganelli ruled the death of Miguel Aponte Jr. a homicide after being gunned down in an Easton bar by Frank Barndt in 2009. Authorities say the killing was in retribution for a shooting that took place in 2006.

Monday was the fifth day of the trial before Judge Emil Giordano.

Attorney Carolyn Frisoli Furst, who is Furst's wife and his attorney, said she is seeking to establish an intent to retaliate against Furst.

After Furst's report, a district investigation showed Drago, 54, of Bushkill Township, downloaded pornography and spied on other administrators on his school computer, according to court records. He subsequently resigned.

Without the school board's knowledge, some district administrators subsequently contacted Forks police. Drago was charged in 2013 with a violation of the state wiretap law for allegedly recording a board meeting without consent. He later was admitted into a probationary program for first-time offenders.

Fehnel testified that then-board members William Rider, Kerri Leonard-Ellison and Janet Matthews were on good terms with Drago. Still, he said the board didn't blame Furst for what transpired.

After learning about Furst's allegations against Drago, Fehnel said he asked multiple times whether his computer access amounted to criminal action. He said he was assured by the district solicitor that nothing criminal occurred.

Fehnel said other board members expressed a variety of feelings in executive sessions about Drago's computer activity.

He said Matthews and the late Leonard-Ellison believed the computer access wasn't a violation of district policy. Rider was more open to listening to whether Drago violated policy, he said, while now-board president Frank Pintabone wanted to know "how it got out there and everything."

He said two board members had difficulty with terminating Drago, but the rest did not.

When prompted, Fehnel said some board members were concerned that administrators were "just wildly going out there" and bypassing them in contacting police.

District chief operating officer Mike Simonetta spoke briefly Monday, as well. Attorneys for Furst asked him about the reorganization plan that resulted in Furst's demotion from central administrator to principal. At the time, Reinhart said it was being done as part of a new emphasis on teaching and learning.

Simonetta may be called to the stand again later in the case.

Reinhart and Furst are expected to take the stand later on in the case, which is scheduled to resume in May.

Four of the administrators who contacted police filed a federal case against the district and Rider, Leonard-Ellison, Matthews, Fehnel and Pintabone in 2015. Their complaint alleges some board members encouraged Drago to access administrators' computers.

WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT

•Stephen Furst's 2013 lawsuit says his rights were violated under the state whistleblower act when Easton Area School District demoted him from central office administrator to middle school principal after he reported that former Technology Director Thomas Drago accessed his computer without permission.